ething,
Marie."

Marie didn't appear very willing to treat us to anything, but she went
over to a corner cupboard and brought out a few cookies,--pale,
baked-to-death "poor man's cookies." They looked poor, indeed! I
shuddered before I stuck a piece into my mouth.

To eat with a mask on, when the mouth is no wider than the slit in a
savings-bank, has its difficulties, I can tell you. The little I did get
in tasted of camphor. Mrs. Berg must have kept her medicines in the same
closet with the cakes.

"Perhaps the little ladies would like something more," said Mr. Berg.

"No, thanks--No-po, thanks-panks." And we all three rose to go. We
curtsied and curtsied. Mr. Berg bowed and bowed. Mrs. Berg turned the
key in the street door after us with a snap, and I heard her say
something about "that long-legged young one of the judge's!"

Oh! how we laughed! "Now we will go to Mrs. Pirk's," said I.

"Inger Johanne! Are you crazy? She is worse than Mrs. Berg!"

"That makes it all the more wildly exciting! Come on!"

We crept stealthily into Mrs. Pirk's kitchen. It was pitch dark in there
except for a little light through the keyhole of the sitting-room.

"Hush! Keep still!" Mrs. Pirk coughed suddenly and we all quaked.

"Now she will surely come!" Silence again. We were half-choked with
laughter.

"I am going to clear my throat," said I. "Ahem!"

"Ahem!" I gave a very loud, strong one the second time.

A chair was hastily shoved aside in the sitting-room, the door opened, a
sharp light fell on our three fantastic figures, and Mrs. Pirk stood in
the doorway with her spectacles on her nose. I stepped forward.

"Good-pood day-pay!" Mrs. Pirk went like a flash to the fireplace and
grabbed a broom-stick.

"Get out!" she cried. "Out with you!"

So out of the door we ran, stumbling and tumbling over each other, Mrs.
Pirk after us with her uplifted broom, out into the moonlit street. Oh!
it was unspeakable fun to be chased out-of-doors that way by Mrs. Pirk!

Well--then we went on to the Macks'.

They were sitting alone in their big light sitting-room, as we went in.
Mrs. Mack was playing "patience" and Mr. Mack sat by her side smoking
his long pipe and pointing out with the end of it which card he thought
she ought to take next.

We pressed close together around the door and curtsied.

"Why, see! Welcome to youth and joy!" said Mrs. Mack, rising. "What nice
young people these are to come to visit a pair of old folk